Orange Eyes
by NHunter
Summary: Magic answers little Harry's plea for a better family and gives him one. In a different world, a dimension away. ••• This is an M-rated story, so be warned! ••• Will have erratic and infrequent updates.
1. Harry's New Life

**Title** : Orange Eyes  
 **Author** : NHunter aka N.H.  
 **Genre** : General, Adventure, eventual Romance  
 **Rating** : M  
 **Warnings** : AU; crossover; occasional gory violence; swearing; suggestive themes; crazy author...  
 **Summary** : Magic answers little Harry's plea for a better family and gives him one. In a different world, a dimension away.

* * *

 **Disclaimer** : I DO_NOT own " _ **Harry Potter**_ " or " _ **Freezing**_ ". No profit is being made. The same goes for any other books, films, video games, anime and manga that might use as the sources of inspiration.

"Talking"  
' _thinking_ '  
 _written text_  
 **spells** / **skills**

* * *

 **Author's Note** :

 _ **1**_. This story disregards some of the more recent developments of the " _ **Freezing**_ " canon. Namely, here **Illusion Turn** and **Dimensional Accel** will NOT let one hop through parallel dimensions in this story. Nova dimension in this story will also be far more alien than what is seen in manga. Finally, here Maria Lancelot will be just an especially powerful and benevolent N3 Nova.  
 _ **2**_. This story also disregards plots from " _ **Freezing: Zero**_ ": the Legendary Pandora, while still artificial creations, don't start out as already-adults in this story. They will have something resembling a childhood here.  
 _ **3**_. Just like it was in the original oneshot, Harry's intended pairing is an OC, an N3 Nova, that he accidentally summons while trying to send himself 'home'. This, of course, doesn't mean that he will be completely ignoring all other girls around him.

And, one more thing, this is a side project, so don't expect regular or frequent updates. Now, without further ado...

* * *

 **Orange eyes  
Part I: Harry's New Life**

Five years old Harry sobbed pathetically in the bunched-up rag that was his pillow as he lay on the cold and bare floor inside his cupboard under the stairs, curled into a ball. His entire being was filled with pain, and all because he had made a terrible mistake of whimpering too loudly from his hunger-induced stomach ache and disturbed Uncle Vernon while he was trying to relax after a terrible day he had had at his workplace. That was all the excuse the man needed to flog him to the inch of his life.

Curling even tighter, little Harry wondered yet again why Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were so horrible with him. Why did they always punish him most severely for any real or thought up reason, yet never gave his Cousin Dudley even a slap on his wrist? Why was he treated with such hate? Harry had no idea, but as his consciousness began fading away he desperately wished he was far away from here, someplace he had a real, loving family.

Unknown him him, today was the summer solstice and Magic, being at its peak, heard his plea. Blue wisps of ethereal light ghosted inside the cupboard under the stairs, gently wrapping themselves around Harry's unconscious, broken body. And as more and more Magic amassed around him, time and space themselves began to bend and twist around the raven-haired little boy. Then, with a thunderous boom, the reality tore itself apart.

At the same moment, in an ancient and magical castle hidden far away in the Highlands, a number of silvery arcane devices stopped their mysterious movements and went completely dead. Harry James Potter no longer existed in this world.

 **~/ *** \~**

Gengo Aoi let out a small, tired sigh as he walked a country road circling the lake his summer house sat next to, his beautiful Goddess walking by his side. Yet, even Maria's comforting presence was not enough to calm his many worries, for he was worrying about their children.

Their five precious little girls were suffering, and there was nothing the human science could offer at this time to truly save them. The extradimensional powers they have inherited from Maria were slowly tearing them apart, and the best he could do was slow this terrible process down. And, even worse than that, it wasn't just death that awaited his precious daughters, should he fail to devise a true cure to their condition; should their powers consume them, they'll turn into the very monsters Maria refused to become when she chose to embrace humanity instead…

Gengo's rather grim thoughts were interrupted when his Goddess suddenly separated from him and glided with a purpose towards the bushes growing on side of the road. Curious about what had drawn Maria's attention, he walked up to his love, just in time to see her pick some off the ground. Well, not something, someone - it was a small dark-haired child wearing old and dirty rags. What's more, it looked like this little boy had been through something really horrible. Whoever he as, he needed medical help, and quickly. And Maria, for all of her limited understanding of humans, could see this as well. Thus, she allowed Gengo to take the boy from her embrace and him to the nearest hospital.

* * *

The doctors, bless their souls, were able to stabilize to boy and patch him up a little bit. And while they worked, Gengo tried his best to find out, who this child was. His inquiries to the Police, however, brought in no results: there were no reports of missing children that matched the boy's profile. And digging a little deeper earned him no results either. It was almost like this boy had magically appeared out of thin air… Could he be from another dimension, like Maria?

Anyway, now that the doctors have done everything they could for the poor child, and now he needed to be moved to a different, better equipped, hospital to continue his treatment. Alas, there was only a single ambulance attached to this small provincial clinic, and the staff weren't willing to lend it because the boy was now in a good enough condition to be transported by other means. Thus, the task of getting the still-unidentified child to another hospital fell to Gengo.

Originally, his planned destination was the Sapporo Royal Hospital, but that changed rather quickly when his Goddess decided that she had a better idea on how to help the boy she had found. Gengo, of course, was already aware that Maria had a soft spot for the little one, but it still caught him by surprise when she offered her own blood and powers to help him. He attempted to explain it to her that this wasn't a good idea for a number of reasons, but his Goddess was unyielding and nothing he said was able to change her mind. Thus, with a sigh he changed his plans and turned towards his laboratory in Southwest Furano.

Laboratory #13 was a research facility that the UN and Japanese government gave him so that he could study Maria and her powers and, hopefully, devise a way for the humanity to fight against the extra-dimensional invasion that the orange-eyed Goddess warned them about. It was also the place where Gengo's and Maria's five daughters were, well, created. Thus, while the lab's medical ward might not exactly be the best place to treat injuries such as bruises or broken bones, it was still good enough to provide the still-unconscious boy will all the medical care he might need…

As he watched the doctors working for him do their job, Gengo made another attempt at finding out the identity of this mysterious boy Maria had found. Alas, once again neither the Police nor the Migration Serviced had any useful information for him. Could this child really be from another world? Letting out a deep sigh, the world's premiere expert on Novas walked up to the lockers. There he donned a lab coat and gloves. Then he approached the bed the mysterious boy lay on.

Having carefully collected the samples of his blood and soft tissues, Gengo retired to his laboratory so that he could run a few tests on those in peace. He was really curious about the origins and the true nature of this mysterious child - children normally don't magically appear in the middle of private properties. And if the boy somehow turned out to be a perfectly normal human, then, perhaps, the results of these tests will finally let him convince his Goddess that giving him her blood was not the best of ideas…

* * *

The results he got from his tests left Gengo quite surprised. Save for a couple of small oddities, the boy was perfectly human, yet, for some reason, his cells were unusually receptive towards Maria's stigmata tissue. In fact, this was the first time Dr. Aoi had observed unmodified human cells to readily bond with those of a Nova. This was both a bit annoying and greatly inspiring for the young scientist.

This annoyed Gengo because he had spent several years trying to figure out a way for him and Maria to have children - even if via a test tube - and their precious girls were quite literally designed gene by gene. He still failed to make them perfect… And here was this boy; he came out of nowhere yet possessed an all-natural potential to become a nigh-flawless transition link between the humans and the Novas.

Yet, at the same time, Dr. Aoi couldn't help but be greatly relieved and inspired by this accidental discovery. This mysterious child, he was a definite proof that the Pandora project was more than just an illusory dream of his and, should the extradimensionals try to invade Earth like Maria warned, that mankind would be able to stand against them.

Still, no matter how great a potential this boy had, there was very little Gengo could do about it without a permission from the boy's guardians. And those bastards - there was no kinder word to describe someone who would abandon a child like they did - were nowhere to be found, not even by the mighty bureaucratic machine that the Japanese government was. Letting out a sigh, Dr. Aoi reached for his phone and dialed the Police yet again. Hopefully, this time they had some good news for him...

 **~/ *** \~**

As Harry slowly regained his consciousness, he quickly became aware of a few things. First and foremost being a comfortable bed he was now lying in. And since his Aunt and Uncle would never let him into a proper bed, this could only mean that he somehow wasn't at the Dursleys' residence anymore. But where was he then? A hospital of some sort, perhaps, if the strong medicinal smell was anything to go by. That would also explain why his injuries were aching much less than he expected.

Getting more curious about his current whereabouts, Harry opened his eyes, only to close them shut a moment later as the light in the room was unbearably-bright to him. After a few seconds, he squinted his eyes open again and carefully studied the room he was in. It was big, white and brightly-lit by the morning sun. There also were many mysterious machines around this room, and Harry himself was connected to one of those with a wire that came out of a band he now had on his left wrist.

More curious, though, was the fact that he wasn't alone in the room: a bed on the opposite side of the room was occupied by a girl a few years older than him. This girl had naturally-violet hair and strange, almost-inhuman orange eyes. Finally, Harry couldn't help but notice that she too was wired up to those strange machines - more than one in fact - but, unlike him, she wasn't at all bothered by this. Instead, she was focusing her attention on some peculiar rectangular device she was holding in her hands.

Suddenly, the girl lowered her device and eyed Harry fixedly for a couple of moments. Next, she tapped something on that strange device a few times and then held it to the side of her head like it was a phone. Which it apparently was, despite looking almost nothing like one… Harry didn't quite hear what the girl said to whoever she was calling, but he was pretty sure she wasn't speaking English. Once she was done talking, the orange-eyed girl went back to doing whatever she had been doing before, paying no more attention to the world around her.

For a couple of minutes nothing happened and Harry was about to throw this whole thing out of his head. Then, he heard the sound of a door opening, and a few moments later a tired-looking dark-haired man in a white lab coat walked into his field of view. He said something in that strange language to the violet-haired girl, who nodded in response without even looking away from her phone-thingy. The man then sat down next to Harry's bed and asked him something. He still wasn't speaking English, so Harry couldn't understand what he said. Letting out a small, tired sigh, the man shook his head and tried again:

"Hello, little one." The man said, this time speaking a very decent - though with a weird accent - English. "I know, you need more rest, but can you please answer a few questions for me?" Harry gave the man a tentative nod. The Dursleys told him to never speak to the strangers, but they weren't there right now and the man seemed nice... "What's your name, little one?" The man asked him.

"H-Harry." The dimensionally-displaced boy croaked. Whatever has happened to him, it did a number on his voice. "Just Harry." He clarified when he noticed the nice man waiting for him to say something more. Of course, the Dursleys often called him 'Freak', but he very much doubted that it was a proper name, so he didn't say anything about that.

"And I'm Dr. Gengo Aoi." The man introduced himself. There was a brief moment of silence, before the man asked his next question: "Now, Harry, do you know where your parents are?"

"They are dead, Sir." The green-eyed boy replied quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Dr. Aoi said in response. Then, he asked: "And who is looking after you? Do you know where we can find them?" Harry shook his head: he was only ever allowed out of the house to weed the backyard, so he had no idea where his Aunt and Uncle actually lived. And he'd rather not go back there anyway. "I see..." The man said with a sigh. After a second or two, he continued: "Alright, I'll see what I can do about all this. Meanwhile, do get better, Harry."

"T-Thank you, Sir." The green-eyed boy replied, receiving a comforting smile from Dr. Aoi. The man then stood up and headed out of the ward while making a call somewhere… Once the door behind him closed, Harry shifted anxiously in his bed as he tried to relax. That wasn't easy, however. Even though the man - Dr. Aoi - seemed to be nice and genuinely trying to help him, Harry couldn't help but be scared of what might happened to him next. What if the doctor decides to send him back to the tender mercies of his Aunt and Uncle? What if the doctor decides that he's not worthy of his help and throws him out like trash? What if this all wasn't even real, just a twisted dream made up by his agonized mind? What if?..

As those thoughts kept swarming inside his head, Harry's need for more rest caught up with him and he began dozing off, eventually falling into uneasy sleep.

* * *

When Harry woke up next, he was delighted to see that he hadn't dreamed up being spirited away from his cupboard under the stairs. Indeed, he was still in this strange medical ward, though he now was its sole occupant as the violet-haired orange-eyed girl from across the room has disappeared without a trace.

A few minutes passed since his awakening, and Dr. Aoi entered the ward, accompanied by a lovely woman. Tall, with shapely body and luscious blond hair that reached her thighs, she was a beauty unlike any other. And as she got closer - moving with an alien grace, so smooth one would think she floated on thin air, rather than walking on the ground - Harry finally got a glimpse of her eyes. Orange, with vertical slits for pupils, yet full of compassion and understanding.

"Good morning, Harry." Dr. Aoi greeted as he and his lovely companion sat down next to Harry's bed. "I hope you're feeling better now."

"Yes. Thank you, Sir." The green-eyed boy replied while trying to understand a strange feeling he was getting from the blond lady: a strange prickling on the very edge of his senses that seemed to make him feel assuaged and protected… There was a bit of a pause, before Gengo spoke again:

"I'm very sorry to say it, but we were unable to locate your relatives or your guardians. Even when we searched outside of Japan." He then stopped, letting his words sink into Harry's head. After a lengthy period of silence, Dr. Aoi continued: "If you would like it, Maria and I can adopt you." These words were accompanied by a spike in that comforting sensation Harry was getting from the orange-eyed beauty, Maria. "Or, you may choose to go to an orphanage and find a new family with their help instead."

This offer caught Harry completely by surprise. Thanks to the Dursleys, it was hard for him to imagine that someone might actually want him. Yes, he had often dreamed about a family that would love him, but could such family exist in the real world?.. Apparently, the answer was 'yes'. Dr. Aoi seemed to be a nice man, and so did Maria. And they were offering to adopt him into their family! That was really great, as his Aunt and Uncle had always described orphanages as little branch offices of Hell to him. And while Harry wasn't sure how much he could trust their word, he'd rather not find out that they were telling him the truth.

"I… I would like it very much." Harry replied, still not quite believing that this was happening. Gengo and Maria both gave him a reassuring smile.

"Alright." Dr. Aoi said. "I'll submit the paperwork tonight, and once everything is processed, you'll become our son, Harry." The green-eyed youth couldn't help but smile back.

Even though Dr. Aoi was clearly a very busy man, he nevertheless opted to shelve whatever his business was in favor of getting to know his not-quite adopted son a little better. He asked Harry a few questions about his likes and dislikes as well as his dreams for the future. In return, Gengo told a bit more about himself and his family.

As it turned out, he and Maria already had five daughters, and when Dr. Aoi showed Harry their photos on his phone, the green-eyed boy immediately recognized one of them, Teslad, as the violet-haired girl, whom he had already seen the other day. The other four girls were just as unique, and if it wasn't for those orange eyes they all had, Harry would have had a hard time believing they could actually be related.

The first of the five sisters was Cassandra, a phlegmatic eight years old girl with long platinum-blonde hair, which made her look like a miniature and aloof version of her mother. Next was the girl whom he had already 'met', the second sister, Teslad. Still, seeing that she was always so reserved, even in the bosom of her family, surprised Harry a little. Meanwhile, the middle sister, Windy May was a little ball of sunshine with a bright smile that seemed to be permanently etched onto her pretty face. And, much like Teslad, she had the most unusual hair color, hers being dark-pink. The fourth sister, Lucy, on the other hand, appeared as someone even more aloof than Cassandra and Teslad. Which, coupled with her pale-blue, almost white hair, made her look like a little ice queen. And then there was the youngest sister, Chiffon. She had light-brown hair that reached the middle of her back and kept her eyes closed most of the time. She was also just as stoic and aloof as Cassandra.

Harry, understandably, was very much afraid that his to-be sisters wouldn't accept or like him. And, apparently, his fears were written all over his face as Dr. Aoi was quick to reassure him that his little princesses would love him…

Throughout this whole conversation Maria remained completely silent. Yet, Harry was quite sure that the mysterious blond lady was actively communicating with him, just in some way that was completely alien. Indeed, he could occasionally feel echoes of emotions coming from her somewhere on the edge of his consciousness. It was… a strange experience, and Harry couldn't help but wonder, who his soon-to-be adoptive mother really was.

* * *

The adoption papers didn't take too long to go through the bureaucratic system, and just three days after Harry was made an offer, he officially became the eighth member of Dr. Aoi's family. He was still recovering from his injuries at the time, so the welcoming party was pretty small and tame. Even like that, it still was, without a shadow of doubt, the best party Harry has ever had in his life. And he was so looking forward to the 'real' party that Gengo - his new father - promised to hold once he was discharged from the hospital.

Later that night, when Harry was soundly asleep, a shadow silently entered the medical ward, carrying a tray with several syringes on it in its hands. The visitor then approached Harry's bed and placed his tray onto the small table there. His hands now free, this mysterious person turned on a small flashlight - just bright enough to break the darkness of the ward - and revealed himself to be none other than Gengo Aoi. He didn't come down to the medical ward as Harry's new father, however. He did that in his capacity of the leading scientist behind the Pandora Project...

Picking one of the syringes from the tray, Gengo carefully injected its contents into the sleeping boy's blood. Then he cast a glance at his watch, noting the current time. The serum he had just used took fifteen minutes to put a person into a medically-induced coma. And until it did its job, he refused to proceed any further. Despite all of the _questionable things_ he has done in the past and will undoubtedly do in the future, he wasn't a heartless monster. He didn't want Harry to suffer unnecessarily while his body was bonding with the Stigmata Tissue.

And he really hoped that - when he told him about this one day - Harry will be able to forgive him both for turning him into a human-Nova hybrid and for the destiny he was laying out for him… Still, this was something that had to be done in order for the humankind to survive the coming dark days. And so, once the fifteen minutes passed, Gengo injected Harry with the preparation of Maria's Stigmata Tissue.

Now that _it_ was done, and all that Dr. Aoi could do was waiting for Harry's body to assimilate and properly bond with the Stigmata Tissue - something that would take roughly two weeks, according to his estimations.

 **~/ *** \~**

Albus Dumbledore gently pushed ornate iron gates that marked the edge of the Hogwarts' grounds open. There was something special about approaching the ancient and majestic castle on foot and right now, after three weeks of long and tense parleys at the ICW conference, this was exactly what his old and tired soul needed. And by the time he finally reached his office, he indeed felt much better. Even the mountains of paperwork that were, undoubtedly, waiting for him there didn't seem to be scary anymore.

As soon as he stepped into his office, Dumbledore immediately noticed that it was quiet there. Too quiet. Something definitely was amiss. With the sense of dread quickly filling his being, the old warlock rushed to check the many instruments he had attuned to young Harry Potter. None of them were moving as they should have, and were standing motionless instead.

Dread began filling the ancient wizard's soul. Something terrible had happened while he was away, and now Harry Potter was gone. Quickly drawing his wand, Dumbledore began frantically casting many arcane spells, trying his hardest to determine what had happened to the young Mr. Potter. Alas, he didn't get many answers: the only thing he managed to learn was that the boy was still alive, somewhere.

* * *

 **That's all, folks!**  
Read and review


	2. The Years In-Between

The second chapter of " _ **Orange Eyes**_ " is finally here!

 *** Review Response**:  
 **redwolf23456** , **Rake1810** , **Gracealma** , **Harry Mikaelson** , **Guest** , **Darth-Vulturnus** , **ARSLOTHES** , **kat1316** , **Shiza Riku** , thank you for your reviews, folks!  
 **Jose19** , setting aside the Legendary Pandora and a few special cases that lucked out and got ranged Volt weapons, average Pandora became capable of winning against average combat-trained wizard only when the Tempest/Accel/Illusion Turn High-End skills were (re)discovered - which was only in 2050s. Before that, a wizard could take a Pandora down before she gets close enough to do anything... Not that it matters much here since HP-verse and Freezing-verse are different universes within this story with Harry being the only one to travel (involuntarily) between them so far.  
 **alphagates** , heh. Someone needs to write that one too.  
 **VentXekart** , I might slip an omake or two about that past my primary beta, but otherwise Harry and the Legendary Pandora are just your average super-powered siblings. The end of this chapter, however, puts the Freezing universe back onto canon-ish tracks, so until it is said otherwise, assume things happen just like canon.

 *** AN**: Great thanks to my good friend **Skelekitty** for his help in polishing this chapter.

* * *

 **Disclaimer** : I DO_NOT own " _ **Harry Potter**_ " or " _ **Freezing**_ ". No profit is being made. The same goes for any other books, films, video games, anime and manga that might use as the sources of inspiration.

"Talking"  
" _Translated talking_ "  
' _thinking_ '  
 _written text_  
 **spells** / **skills  
** 「 _Telepathy / sharing thoughts over the Freezing Field_ 」 **  
**

* * *

 **Orange eyes  
Part II: ****The Years In-Between**

The first week passed without any accidents and so Dr. Aoi used this time to study the transformations a human body underwent when spliced with stigmata tissue. It was valuable data that could help him bring the Pandora Project one step closer to reality. Indeed, the proposed and approved plan for the defense against the extra-dimensional invasion necessitated the creation of soldiers augmented with Nova abilities. And, to ensure that these augmentations were safe and reliable, Gengo needed to know how human bodies reacted to stigmata tissue - something that he couldn't observe with his daughters since they were genetically engineered as half-Nova hybrids from the start.

Then, one night, something completely unexpected happened. Without any warning, Harry's vitals shifted dangerously, and when Gengo finally arrived to the ward he saw ugly black smoke rising from his adopted son's forehead. That strange lightning-bolt shaped scar seemed to be the smoke's source, but there was so much of it that Dr. Aoi couldn't be completely sure. Even more strangely, this 'smoke' - which, for the lack of better word, felt _wrong_ \- was so intangible that it couldn't even be sampled for study. Yet somehow, it was causing Harry great pain.

Seeing this mysterious phenomenon hurting a child was not something Gengo liked, but there wasn't anything he could about it beyond wait and hope for the best. So, he sat by his new son's bed, holding his hand and inwardly praying for him to overcome whatever this black smoke was…

For fifteen long minutes nothing really changed, then, with no warning, the smoke got denser and formed into something that resembled an ugly, screaming head. With just as little warning, it suddenly exploded with a terrifying and all too-human scream, dissipating into nothing before Gengo could recover from his shock. That certainly was the strangest thing he had seen in his life, and also one he had absolutely no explanation for… but, as the process was being recorded, he could try to solve this mystery later. Harry came first. And, to the man's relief, it looked like his son was doing well again now, and a quickly-healing wound in place of his scar was the only reminder of the freak incident a moment before.

Breathing out a sigh of relief now that whatever had happened was over, Dr. Aoi gave Harry's hand a squeeze before standing up and heading back to his laboratory. He probably should've stayed by his son's side, but he still had a lot of work to do tonight. Work that might give the humankind a chance to fight of the coming invasion of Novas…

 **~/ *** \~**

Another week and a half passed, and Harry's body nearly finished assimilating the stigmata tissue. With the worst of the transformation finished, Dr. Aoi decided that it was safe to bring his adopted son out of his coma. While the medicine he injected him with was doing its job, Gengo made a quick trip to bring Maria and their girls to Laboratory #13; he believed that Harry's new family should be there by his side when he woke up.

He, however, was rather off in his estimations of when the newest member of the family would finally regain consciousness. By the time of his return Harry showed no signs of waking up just yet. So for the moment, Maria and the girls retired to the cafeteria so that they could have something nice to betake themselves with while they waited. As for himself… He still had a lot of paperwork for the UN to file; being the lead scientist for the Pandora Project had certainly put him into the paper shackles of bureaucracy…

A couple of hours, the monitors showed that Harry was finally stirring. Putting the current paper down, Gengo collected everyone, and together they made their way to the medical ward; it was the time to welcome the newest member of their family to the world of living.

* * *

The first thing that Harry noticed as he slowly drifted back into consciousness was a strange feeling of tiredness, like his body was nearly out of energy... Yet, despite that, he felt far better than he ever had in his life so far. Was this something a proper doctor could do? The Dursleys never let him see one, even when he had been really sick the last fall…

More interesting and strange, though, was the feeling of several presences on the edge of his awareness. Curious, Harry concentrated on those 'presences' and attempted to study them. One of them was very powerful, yet projected a gentle and protective feeling towards him. There were also five weaker 'presences', which, if he was to describe them, were more curious than anything else. Wondering what those were, Harry opened his eyes and looked around.

He was still in his bed, although there now were more of those strange medical machines connected to him along with some other subtle changes around the ward which indicated that he might have slept for a while. More importantly, though, he could see his new family standing around his bed. This let him match the presences he could feel to actual people. The most powerful one undoubtedly belonged to Maria while the five weaker ones were of his new sisters. What surprised Harry a little was that he hadn't sensed his father's presence at all even though the man was there, standing right besides Maria. Maybe her presence was just so powerful that it completely overshadowed his? His thoughts on this matter, however, were quickly interrupted when the man spoke:

"Good morning, Harry. How are you feeling?" Harry would've told him that he was alright, had a sudden 'contact' from Maria not startled him. He wasn't really sure how it worked, but the blond beauty was projecting her ...thoughts? at him somehow. It was about the same question that Dr. Aoi was asking him, but rather than spoken words, it was something more like a mental image… "Harry?" Gengo asked, calling for his attention.

"Sorry." Harry said. "I'm fine. Just… I feel a bit tired." The man nodded.

"Good to hear that." He said. Then, after a very brief pause he continued: "While the doctors might want you to stay under their care for a bit longer, I believe, now is still a good time to tell you this: welcome to family, son." Dr. Aoi said warmly. Harry could only respond by smiling wildly, not quite believing that this was actually happening as the notion that he was an unwanted existence still hadn't been purged from his mind quite yet.

He was brought out of his stupor when he felt someone touch his hand lightly. Taking a glance, he saw that it was the middle of the sisters, Windy May. Noticing his attention, the pinkette gave him a small, almost foxy smile and kept her hand where it was that made Harry wonder what she was planning to do. He got his answer a moment later when he felt her 'contact' him in much the same way Maria did a minute ago.

「 _So… You can understand me?_ 」 That's what her thought-message felt like. Somewhat confused by this, he just stared at his pink-haired sister for a few seconds, before finally nodding slowly. Smiling widely at him, Windy May 'told' him: 「 _Cool! Welcome to the family, little brother!_ 」This little exchange made Harry wonder, whether he could exchange thoughts like this too - being able to do that would be really cool - but he was quickly distracted from that line of thoughts when the other four, more reserved girls joined Windy May in welcoming him to the family.

 **~/ *** \~**

Albus Dumbledore sighed tiredly as he thought about the events of the last two weeks. As soon as he had a proof that Harry Potter was still alive, his immediate thought was that someone had kidnapped the boy. So, he apparated to Privet Drive in hopes that it wasn't too late to get at least some clue towards the identity of the Dark wizard who dared to abduct young Harry.

The old warlock didn't even need to enter the house, though, to see that it was not a man that took the boy from his home. With his Magic-enhanced sight he could see the traces of powers that were too primal and powerful. Either it was a case of very powerful accidental Magic that caused Harry to disappear from Privet Drive, or the forces beyond human comprehension decided that he didn't belong there. Either way, it was a small consolation to Albus that the boy wasn't kidnapped by some Dark wizard. Still, if forces like that were at play, finding Harry here would be much more difficult…

While he had no real reason to do that, Dumbledore decided to inspect the Dursleys' house, and what he found inside didn't make him happy. While he certainly had insisted in his letter to Petunia that Harry is not to be spoiled, it looked like the muggles had gone too far and actually abused the boy. That was not good. Lord Voldemort - the most feared British Dark Lord of the modern times - was an abused boy by the name of Tom Riddle once upon a time. Now, Albus could not hope that whatever the Dursleys had done to Harry didn't turn him into a new Dark Lord… Leaving a small and subtle curse on the Number Four household to show his displeasure, Dumbledore departed for Hogwarts.

There, he tried several methods of locating Harry, including some quite powerful arcane spells and rituals. All of them turned out to be disappointments as none of them seemed to be able to locate the boy. It was like he had disappeared from the face of the earth entirely… And that was not good: Voldemort's belief in that prophecy made Harry into the only wizard capable of truly stopping him when he returned back to power. It was imperative that the boy was brought back to where he could be prepared for his Fate! Alas, Dumbledore had no idea how to do that without knowing where the boy was.

A small consolation was the fact the Dark Lord was currently in hiding and, thus, he still had time. He could only hope that this time would be enough for him to secretly - he didn't want people panicking because the Boy-Who-Lived had gone missing - devise a method to bring Harry where he belongs, for the Greater Good of course.

 **~/ *** \~**

It's been two months since he had been adopted into the Aoi family, and Harry was slowly getting used to his new self. The most notable change, of course, was his eyes, which now were orange instead of green. Harry actually liked this change since it made him look more like his new mother and sisters and gave him perfect vision without any sort of eyewear to boot.

The rest of the changes weren't as noticeable as they were about his powers and abilities rather than his appearance, but that didn't mean they were any less fascinating. He was now much stronger than before, and didn't tire out as easily. And the minor injuries such as small cuts and bruises that he got while playing healed far faster now, sometimes within just a few minutes. Finally, cold didn't bother him as much now, though hot weather was still as uncomfortable as before.

The most interesting change, however, was his newfound ability to use what his father called the **Freezing Field**. It was something he had only just began training in, so he lacked finesse and didn't have much control over it, but he could already do some fascinating things like slowing down and immobilizing objects within a certain range. Furthermore, this Freezing Field was how he could sense his sisters or his mother when they were nearby and how they could project those mental messages to each other.

Had he been a bit older, Harry would have probably wondered where all these abilities came from as humans don't randomly develop powers like that. But he was just a five years old boy, and one still very excited to have a family that loved him, so such questions never even crossed his mind.

 **~/ *** Three Years Later *** \~**

The past three years, Gengo reflected, were quite peaceful. A few Nova attacks happened, but those weren't very dangerous and Maria easily took care of them. Of course, things wouldn't always be like that and, sooner or later, a more threatening extradimensional incursion would happen, one that would require a whole army of empowered combatants to stop. And, unfortunately, the Pandora project, the very purpose of which was to create such army, had hit a serious roadblock.

While he now actually had a working way to identify people that were receptive towards stigmata tissue and, in theory, could be augmented to fight against the Nova, the augmentation process itself still wasn't anywhere close to serviceable yet. The few small-scale experiments he had performed on tissue samples from the few discovered candidates for augmentation had ended badly. It was actually a mystery to him, why it all went so smoothly with Harry. Perhaps, it was time he tried another approach? Not a full gene-splicing, but something that didn't alter human body as radically…

" _Papa, stop spacing out! You've promised to play with us._ " Windy May called a moment before an inflatable ball hit him. Shaking his head, Gengo picked the ball and threw it back to the kids, who were playing in the warm, shallow waters of the lake near his summer house. His daughter was certainly right, right now wasn't the place or time for him to think about his work.

Throwing the ball back, Gengo got out of his beach armchair and gave Maria quick kiss, before walking out to join the children playing in the water - an image that greatly warmed his heart. He wasn't sure that things would have been the same without Harry as a part of the family. It was like his son somehow gave the girls what they needed to live their lives to the fullest. Hopefully, he would likely do just as well in the role of guide for all of the Transcendent Beings.

Being thrust into that role, however, meant that danger would always be on Harry's heels, and as much as he was afraid of losing his son, Dr. Aoi couldn't help but fear more what effect such a tragedy would have on the rest of his family. That would be devastating for everyone, but his daughters will undoubtedly be hit by the tragedy the hardest. He feared that… Shaking his head, Gengo forcefully reminded himself that right now was now the place and time for thoughts like that. If anything, he should be rehearsing his role of a stern father to keep any boys from having their sights on his daughters in line.

And yes, having Nova blood in them made his girls mature a little faster. They were no older than ten now, but already showed the first signs of entering puberty. If it continued like that, they'd all be grown up before he knew it. Or was ready for that… And, by the looks of it, Harry wouldn't be behind them much. Would he have to practice giving them _The Talk_ too?

Thankfully, it would be quite a while before he'd have to go through this with Ryuuchi, his second son. The little guy was still two or maybe three months away from entering this world… His thoughts were again interrupted by the ball hitting his head.

" _Papa! You're spacing out again!_ " His pink-haired little princess scolded him.

 **~/ *** Three More Years Later *** \~**

It now was late July of 1991, and Albus Dumbledore was starting to get desperate. While he had managed to keep the disappearance of Harry Potter six years ago under wraps so far, wizards and witches of Great Britain expecting to see the Boy-Who-Lived at Hogwarts this year, and there would be a riot if that expectation wasn't met. Alas, none of his attempts to locate the boy had been successful, though, his instruments were telling him that he was still alive, somewhere.

He had also tried a couple of 'Light' rituals that didn't require him to know where the boy was in hopes that one of those would return Harry home, but none had worked. And given that his time was running out, Dumbledore felt that it was the time to turn towards the spells and rituals of a more questionable nature. Nothing that could be outright classified as 'Dark Magic', of course.

It took the aged wizard a week of perusing the books from the Restricted section of the Hogwarts Library and his own private collection, but, eventually, he found a summoning ritual based on sympathetic Magic that - with a few modifications - stood a reasonably-good chance of bringing Harry home. It required a sacrifice of an item that was strongly tied to the boy, as well as some of the caster's blood. A questionable piece of Magic to be sure, but given that his chances of finding a better way to summon Harry in what little time he had left before the deadline was almost nil, Dumbledore decided to go with this ritual regardless.

On the midnight of August 25th, which according to his calculations was the best time to conduct the ritual, Albus placed an old toy that used to be Harry's favorite when he still lived with his parents in Godric's Hollow in the center of a very complex runic array that he had painstakingly inscribed on the floor of a large circular chamber deep in the bowels of Hogwarts. With the sacrificial item in place, the old warlock began walking around the said runic circle, lighting the candles one by one, all the while chanting in a language long forgotten to most people.

As soon as he finished the chant, all light in the chamber was pulled towards the old toy, turning it into a bluish ball of light barely a feet across. It then rose into the air and… just hovered there seemingly doing nothing, making Dumbledore wonder how long it would be before he knew whether the ritual was a success or not.

* * *

Harry let out a small sigh as he tapped the screen of his smartphone, causing it to light up. It was half past two in the morning already. He might not enjoy his bimonthly overnight stays at Laboratory #13's medical wing, but he knew that those were necessary to monitor the condition of his stigmata body and so he had never been bothered by them much in the past. Certainly not to the point where he just couldn't fall asleep. Yet, this time he felt really uneasy for some reason, and it was keeping him awake at this late hour.

Letting out another sigh, he moved to lay the device on the table next to his bed, but froze a moment later as a cold shiver run through his body. A few seconds passed and, suddenly, a small ball of bluish light appeared a meter or so above him. It then just hovered there, seemingly doing nothing. Harry had no idea what this light was, but he was pretty sure that it wasn't something coming from the Nova dimension. The lack of alarms going off also supported this… Regardless, this mysterious ball of light was unnatural and the orange-eyed boy couldn't help but eye it warily.

After a few seconds of just hovering there, the ball of light began rapidly expanding, quickly filling the entirety of Harry's vision. It didn't stop there and continued to grow in size until it swallowed him completely, his body becoming paralyzed wherever this strange light touched it. Then it blinked out of existence, everything inside of it vanishing along with it.

The monitoring devices around Harry's bed registered his sudden disappearance and triggered an alarm, but it was already too late to change anything as he no longer existed in this world…

* * *

Dumbledore almost gave up on the summoning ritual being a failure when the ball of light suddenly expanded greatly. Then, with barely a hint of warning, it exploded outwards, forcing the man to shield his eyes with his hand.

As the lighting in the chamber returned to normal, the old warlock saw that there now was an unconscious dark-haired boy lying in the center of the runic circle, a strange rectangular object of dark plastic held in his hand. Walking a few steps towards him, the Hogwarts Headmaster studied the youth he had just summoned.

If this indeed was Harry Potter, he certainly was quite different from what he thought he would be. For one, he looked a bit older than someone who was just starting Hogwarts. In fact, the boy looked more like he was thirteen than eleven. He also had quite a bit of muscle, something rarely seen even among the muggleborn wizards, much less those raised in the Magical households… Looking at boy's face, Dumbledore couldn't help but note that while he could see that the boy was his parents' son, it was almost like there was something beyond just them, something he couldn't put his finger on. And, finally, the famous lightning bolt-shaped scar on the boy's forehead had faded to the point where the aged warlock had to squint to actually discern it.

This all made Dumbledore wonder, how else this Harry Potter might he come short of his expectations. Perhaps, he should rethink some of his plans… Right now, though, he needed to bring the boy to the Hospital wing and to remove any traces of the summoning ritual he had just performed.

With but a small wave of his wand the old Headmaster raised the unconscious youth into the air and proceeded to levitate him towards the school's hospital wing, stopping only for a moment to lock the now-empty chamber behind them.

* * *

 **That's all, folks!**  
Read and review


	3. Stranded in a Faraway World

The third chapter of " _ **Orange Eyes**_ " is here! Enjoy!

 *** Review Response**:  
 **Euphonia** , **Greyjedi449t** , **Squadpunk 2.0** , **Great Dullahan** , **whiteabyss89** , **Darth-Vulturnus** , **Tsukikageshi** , **gemm1mt** , **Orchamus** , **starboy454** , **Wyrtha** , **delonix** , thank you for your reviews, folks!  
 **Jose19** , Harry appeared in Freezing-verse while Maria is still an active player. This places the timeline into early 2020s. But even 2060s don't look much more advanced than our real world, so... As for Harry's abilities: he has a powerful Freezing Field, enhanced toughness, super strength and crude Volt Texture manipulation. He might be able to take on a weaker Nova (like an R-type) by himself, even as he is right now - an he will get stronger.  
 **wahyubison** , "But this is for the Greater Good!"  
 **Guest #1** , **Guest #2** , he'll be returning there, eventually. And it will NOT be the last chapter. Harry has a cute little niece to meet, after all. ;)  
 **Locothehood** , unlike his sisters, Harry is more or less stable. Monitoring for him is more of a "Let's be sure everything is alright" thing than something that is needed to be done to prevent him from turning a Nova (or whatever a Limiter will turn into). As for a Nova incursion... Harry will create a small one himself at one point.  
 **Ranmaleopard** , No (at least not in the main story, but that's a great idea for an omake) and No.  
 **Lu Bane Na** , I not sure the Tsar Bomb would make a good weight. 

*** AN**: Great thanks to my good friend **Skelekitty** for his help in polishing this chapter.

* * *

 **Disclaimer** : I DO_NOT own " _ **Harry Potter**_ " or " _ **Freezing**_ ". No profit is being made. The same goes for any other books, films, video games, anime and manga that might use as the sources of inspiration.

"Talking"  
" _Translated talking_ "  
' _thinking_ '  
 _written text_  
 **spells** / **skills  
** 「 _Telepathy / sharing thoughts over the Freezing Field_ 」 **  
**

* * *

 **Orange eyes  
Part III: Stranded in a Faraway World**

As Harry drifted back to consciousness, he quickly realized that while he was still in a medical ward of some sort, it was most certainly not the one attached to his father's laboratory. Curious, though a bit afraid of what he might find out, he opened his eyes. Whatever that freaky ball of light had been, it either sent him half-way across the world and several centuries into the past, or made him hallucinate this happening. Could there be any other explanation why he currently was inside what looked like a medieval European castle?

Pushing his rising panic aside, Harry looked around in hopes that at least some of his things got here as well. Whether this was a just a strange nightmare or some freak occurrence in the real world, having some familiar items with him would make things a little easier for him. And, thankfully for him, his smartphone did get transported along with him. Alas, it looked like the thing either ran out of battery or something within it got broken during the encounter with that sphere of light, as the device continuously refused all of his attempts to turn it on.

The orange-eyed boy was still trying to revive his means of communication when someone finally decided to check on him: it was an elderly European man with long white beard and half-moon glasses sitting on top of his slightly-crooked nose. He, Harry thought, would have been an image of a sage if not for his choice of clothes. Garish, purple ...robes with golden stars on them and a pointy hat of similar design made him look more like a loon than a wiseman.

"Harry, my boy, good to see that you're finally up!" The man greeted jovially. Harry, however, shared none of this strange man's joy. Setting his smartphone aside, he narrowed his eyes while preparing to unleash his Freezing Field in case he needed to defend himself.

"Where am I?" The First Limiter asked, doing his best to keep his voice level. "And who the hell are you?" The question of how the man knew his name could be asked later.

"Ah, yes, right. You probably don't remember me; you were but a little baby the last time I saw you." The strange man said, sounding a little embarrassed. "I'm Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Harry narrowed his eyes further. Was this man an asylum escapee? He definitely sounded like one talking about stuff like 'Witchcraft' and 'Wizardry' as if those were real. Freezing Field, while yet to be properly explained with human science, certainly wasn't something as outrageous as 'Magic'... Paying no mind to his suspicions, Dumbledore continued: "I've had the pleasure of teaching your parents when they were the students of this fine institution." This man was clearly insane, Harry decided. While his mother, Maria, has kept her own past a secret, even from him and his sisters, his father most definitely had never been taught 'Magic' by this - or any other - wizard-wannabe.

"Of course, Mr. Dumbledore." Harry said dismissively. Then his voice turned dead serious as he continued: "And now you _will_ send me home." The unspoken 'or else', however, was completely missed by the old man in front of him.

"But your home is here, Harry." The supposed 'wizard' insisted.

"No, it is not." The First Limiter objected hotly, starting to lose his patience. Something about this twinkle-eyed creaker just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Harry, my boy." Dumbledore tried again, seemingly skipping over everything that the orange-eyed youth in front of him has just said. "I don't know what you've been told, but this is your home. Your destiny lies here, and…" Before he could say anything else, he found himself completely immobilized by some invisible force that eluded his Magical Sight. What the aged warlock could see, though, was a number of thin bluish-green lines appearing around the boy's neck and forearms.

"Cut the crap, old man." Harry growled, glaring daggers at his abductor. "Release me and return me home, now." He demanded, punctuating his words with a spike in the Freezing Field that noticeably chilled the air around Dumbledore and made him feel like his heart was about to turn into stone… Suddenly, the ward's door opened and a greasy-haired man carrying a large number of vials filled with strange liquids walked in. It took him a moment or two to notice what was going on.

"Release the Headmaster from your vile spell, Potter!" He yelled, but was ignored. "Why you, insolent brat!" The man exploded, reaching for his wand. This time, Harry did react, by expanding his Freezing Field to contain the new threat. That, however, took him a couple of moments and the Hogwarts' Potions Master was able to fire a single nasty-purple spell before getting immobilized.

The said spell managed to cover maybe a foot before being stopped as well, becoming a ball of light hanging uselessly in the midair. Harry stared at it. While he knew that energy weapons were in development, not in the least due to the Nova threat, but last he heard, such weapons weren't man-portable, much less concealable in a small wooden stick. Purple also wasn't a color normally associated with such weapons... The two robe-wearing men stared at it as well, though for an entirely different reason: neither of them have ever seen a spell being stopped like that, or even believed that it was possible.

The long silence was interrupted, when another person, this time a matron wearing clothes straight out of the nineteenth century, entered the ward.

"Severus, Albus, what's going on here?" She asked.

* * *

Harry sat at the far end of a long table in the "Great Hall of Hogwarts" staring blankly at a plate of pork and mashed potatoes that he was given for dinner. He didn't feel at all hungry. No, he didn't feel much of anything right now, not even rightful anger towards that old bastard, Albus something-something Dumbledore. The last few hours of his life were very emotionally-draining and left him numb to just about everything.

Indeed, learning that you've been kidnapped to a different world - one that was nearly three decades behind and where Magic was real - with no known way to ever see home again just because some crackpot with too much power thought that his "Greater Good" required it could do that to a person.

Suddenly Harry felt someone approach him. Turning around, he saw that it was the same greasy-haired git that tried to hit him with a spell back in the infirmary.

"Is Hogwarts' food not good enough for the great Harry Potter?" The man asked with a sneer. And when he didn't receive a response, his temper flared: "Look at your superiors when they are talking to you, Potter!" He was still ignored, which fanned the flames of the Potions Master's temper even further. Grabbing the brat roughly by his shoulder and dragged him up to his feet, he came close to shouting. "Listen here, you arrogant brat, no matter what your asskissers tell you, you are nothing but a useless waste of space, just like your stupid father!" That finally got a reaction out of the orange-eyed boy.

Harry pulled the man's hand off his shoulder without bothering to restrain his above-human strength. He then turned to face the bastard that dared to insult his family and stared right into his eyes while summoning his Freezing Field to completely immobilize the him - something that robe-wearing git clearly wasn't happy about.

"Listen here." The First Limiter growled angrily, somehow managing to be quite intimidating despite being both younger and shorter than the target of his ire. "I don't know you and you most certainly don't know me, but you are making an enemy out of me by insulting my family." The Potions Master responded with something that likely was a venomous insult, but due to the Freezing Field holding him, whatever he tried to say came out as only unintelligible grunts. Letting out a deep sigh, Harry continued in a bit calmer voice: "And, let me correct a few misconceptions you appear to have about me. One." He punctuated his words with a brief spike in the intensity of his Freezing Field. "My name is Harrison Aoi and I've never had any contact with anyone named 'Potter'. Two, my father, Dr. Gengo Aoi, is a very respected scientist, PhD in Genomics and the world's leading expert in Nova biology as well as the head of a major research laboratory working directly for the UN. Three, it is not polite to touch people without their permission. Someone might file a harassment charge against you. Or, more likely, just punch you." After a brief pause Harry continued: "Now, did you have anything to say to me that isn't an insult or some similarly-stupid nonsense?" He said, releasing his Freezing Field.

"Why you?!.." The Potions Master exploded the moment he could move and speak again. "How dare you treat me with such disrespect, you stupid brat? I'll have you scrub the cauldrons for the rest your miserable life for this!" ...Apparently, the greasy-haired man had nothing of importance to say, so Harry turned his attention away from him. Such dismissal enraged the git even further, making him reach for his wand. An instant later, he was once again frozen in place by the Freezing Field, only this time there also was a sharp and uneven spike, seemingly made out of unmelting ice, pointing at his heart.

"Draw your weapon, and you give me the right for self-defense." Harry stated coldly, his orange eyes glowing slightly with power. For some added emphasis he had two more spikes slowly and menacingly 'grow' out of his Freezing Field. "Do you really want it to go this way?" Letting the question hang in the air for a few seconds, he continued: "Since you don't appear to have anything important to say, why don't you stop this pointless confrontation and leave me be?" Letting his words sink, Harry dismissed the Volt Texture spikes, causing them to fade away, and released his Freezing Field.

"I'll make you pay for this dearly, Potter, mark my words." The man hissed, his voice full of extreme anger and loathing. Still, rationality within him prevailed and he walked away… Once he was far enough, Harry let himself collapse on the bench breathing heavily. While manipulation of the Freezing Field was quite easy for him, the same couldn't be said about materializing and shaping the Volt Texture. Even something as small and simple as those "spikes" he had used just now left him quite drained.

He didn't get much peace, however, as a new annoyance in the form of Albus Dumbledore showed up to ruin his day even further.

"Harry, my boy, you mustn't threaten people just because you're in a bad mood. Professor Snape did nothing to warrant your extreme reaction." The orange-eyed youth gave him a long look, silently asking him if he was serious.

"That man has displayed a clear hostility towards me and then drew a potentially-lethal weapon in my direction. That gives me a right to respond with equal force in self-defense." The old wizard's face showed much disapprovement, but Harry ignored it. "And… that man is a teacher? How did he even get his certificate?"

"Professor Snape is extremely skilled in his fields of expertise." Dumbledore assured him.

"And insults the people the moment he sees them." The young Limiter countered, doing his best to keep the emotions raging within him from affecting his voice. "He also, apparently, has no problem with leveling a weapon against a minor. _That_ is not how a teacher should behave."

"...I'm certain that Professor Snape was just stressed out by the recent events and won't be as callous in the future." The old man replied after a few long seconds. Ignoring Harry's mutter of "Somehow I doubt that.", he continued: "Regardless, Professor Snape is a valued member of Hogwarts' staff and should be treated with utmost respect." And with that Dumbledore walked away, leaving the orange-eyed youth seething at the iniquity of this world.

 **~/ *** \~**

With no money and no way to prove his identity Harry was forced to accept that his best chances of returning home lay in playing along with his kidnappers while he planned and prepared his escape. And that meant attending this 'school' called Hogwarts for a foreseeable future.

Thus, today, Harry was brought to a shopping district named "Diagon Alley" by Albus Dumbledore. According to the man, this was the best place to buy all the things he'd need throughout the academic year. Their first stop, however, was not a shop but a white marble building occupied by a bank. Which, apparently, was run by a humanoid species called goblins. And while Harry was busy observing the strange bank with genuine curiosity, the old warlock had found an occupied teller ready to serve them.

"Mr. Harry Potter would like to make a withdrawal from his vault." Dumbledore said as he handed the teller a small golden key.

"Again, I. Am. _NOT_. A. 'Potter'!" Harry protested loudly, annoyed by the fact that the old bastard couldn't get this through his thick skull.

"This is not Mr. Potter." The teller agreed while sending the Hogwarts' Headmaster a look that promised pain. The goblins didn't like being lied to.

"But I assure you, this young man is Harry James Potter." Dumbledore insisted. "You should be able to confirm this with your Magics." The teller gave him a long look, before reluctantly giving in.

"Very well, Mr. Dumbledore." He said. "Gringotts will conduct a blood test to determine the truthfulness of your claim. This test costs five Galleons and will be done at your personal expense." The old warlock certainly didn't look happy about this, but there was nothing he could do about it. Meanwhile, the teller summoned a pair of security goblins, clad in scalemail armor and armed with wicked spear. "Follow the guards to the Line Verification Office. Do not try to run away from them if you do not wish to lose your limbs." The teller instructed. He then turned his attention away from Dumbledore and called up the next customer.

"Follow us, humans." The guards said as he began leading Harry and Dumbledore into the depths of Gringotts. After a few minutes of walking through a labyrinth of corridors, they've arrived a large hall with numerous doors. One of the guards walked up to the door with number "2" etched on it and knocked. A few moments later he received a response in a language that the young Limiter couldn't understand. He then opened the door and commanded: "Enter."

The Line Verification Office was a pretty large circular room of maybe twenty feet across, though a good half of its space was occupied by massive shelves filled with innumerable scrolls. At its very center there was a massive ornate table of red wood. There was a neat pyramid of apparently-empty scrolls on one side of the table and an elegant set of quills on the other. Sitting behind the table was an elderly goblin in an elaborate suit.

"You wish to determine, whether the young man here is a descendant of the House of Potter, correct?" The goblin asked as read a note that one of guards passed him.

"Yes." Dumbledore said with a nod. "Your tellers refused to believe that this is Harry James Potter and has confiscated his vault key until my word is confirmed." The goblin nodded and turned his attention to the orange-eyed youth.

"I'm not a 'Potter'." Harry told him. "My family name is Aoi." The goblin hummed something under his breath before pulling a white marble bowl from a drawer and placed it onto his table. He then produced a simple silvery dagger from another drawer and laid it next to the bowl.

"Let us get to the truth then… Please let seven drops of your blood into the bowl, young man." The goblin said, addressing Harry. Cautiously nodding, the orange-eyed boy picked up the blade and nicked his finger, letting the requested amount of his blood dribble into the bowl. For a second or two nothing happened. Then, much to his amazement, one of the scrolls flew to the center of the table and unfurled itself there. A moment later it was joined by a quill, which immediately began writing something on the parchment with no noticeable input from anyone.

The quill kept scribbling for a good minute, and once it was done, it returned to its original place. Meanwhile, the goblin picked the parchment up and studied it.

"While there are traces of Potter blood in this young man, those aren't strong enough to qualify him as a member the House. Gringotts cannot recognize him as Mr. Harry James Potter." He declared, utterly dumbfounding the Hogwarts Headmaster. "Your attempt at theft has been noted and will be dealt with shortly, Mr. Dumbledore." Shifting his attention to the orange-eyed youth, he added: "In spite of your earlier claim, 'Mr. Aoi', you are currently seen as an accomplice of Mr. Dumbledore. You will be given a chance to prove your innocence later." Harry nodded. "And while we're waiting for the judge to arrive..." The goblin continued: "I would be thankful if answer a couple of questions regarding the results of your blood test."

"Alright." The young Limiter said.

"First of all, you claimed to be Mr. Aoi, but Magic sees you as Mr. Lancelot. Is there any reasonable explanation to this?" Harry nodded.

"Certainly. Lancelot is my mother's surname while Aoi is my father's. Official documents list me as Mr. Aoi, but your ...Magic appears to disagree." After a short pause he added: "...This might have something to do with me being biologically-related only to my mother."

"I see. But why does Magic think you have only one parent? And, why your mother's name is also shown as… I actually don't know how to read this." The goblin said, before showing Harry the parchment. And, indeed, Maria Lancelot was listed as his only parent, and following her name there were parentheses with a bunch of random blocky ...shapes inside.

"I might have an idea why only my mother is listed there, but it requires explaining things that I'd rather keep private." The orange-eyed boy replied.

"Very well." The goblin agreed. "And my other question, are you will to tell me your thought on what that incomprehensible writing might mean?"

"Hm… It might be a failed attempt at rendering my mother's true name." Harry said thoughtfully. Noticing twin looks of confusion on the goblin's and Dumbledore's faces, he elaborated: "My mother isn't a human but a Nova. Her species uses a form of telepathy for communication and can share their thoughts and feelings without any need for words. While they probably do have a language of sorts, it's certainly not something you and I can recognize as one."

"That's very interesting." Dumbledore observed. He was about say to something else, but the chamber's doors swung open, and a group of eight Gringotts' guards marched in, quickly forming a semi-circle around him and Harry. They were followed by a single goblin that wore a fine blood-red mantle over a standard suit. This goblin was carrying an orb of black glass the size of an orange in his hands.

"I'm Master Lawman Steelclaw." The goblin introduced himself. "I will be deciding what punishment you shall suffer for daring to steal from Gringotts. But let it be known that we goblins aren't unfair. Your intentions will be factor that determines how severe your punishment will be. Let us start with you, Mr. Dumbledore. Hold the Eye of Truth and answer my questions. I will _know_ if you aren't." He said while handing the orb he was carrying to the old warlock. "Now, why were you trying to steal from young Mr. Potter?" Steelclaw asked then.

"I believed that the young man with me here was Harry Potter." As these words left the man's mouth, a green light began glowing deep within the orb. "And, as such, it is only natural that I should give him access to the money his parents left him." The Gringotts law-goblin let out a thoughtful hum before asking his next question:

"And why haven't you checked that the boy is indeed who you thought he was?"

"The method I used to find him should've worked only if he was indeed young Mr. Potter. So, when it worked successfully, I saw no reason to seek additional confirmations that the person the Magic brought to me was Harry Potter." Dumbledore explained.

"Even when young man here refused to be known by that name?" The goblin asked next.

"I merely thought that Mr. Potter was being stubborn. Or didn't even know that he was a Potter." The elderly warlock replied, the orb in his hands still glowing with a green light. "Perhaps, I should've listened to him."

"You should have." Law-goblin Steelclaw said. "It appears that your theft attempt wasn't intentional, Mr. Dumbledore. Nevertheless, it will not let you escape your punishment completely." There was a short pause, before he continued: "Taking into account everything that you've done for the Goblin Nation as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, I believe that the following punishment for your crime will be sufficient: you will be fined one thousand Galleons, any and all special privileges you have with Gringotts will be stripped from you. In addition to that, you will be forbidden from withdrawing money from any vault that isn't explicitly under your name. This includes any institutions and organizations you might be the head of, with the exception of Hogwarts."

"This is ...unfortunate." Dumbledore said after a lengthy pause.

"Then this should remind you that you must make sure that a person you're dealing with is indeed who you think you are." Steelclaw summed up. He then turned his attention to Harry: "In the light of what Mr. Dumbledore has said, there appears to be no need to question you as you've played no role in this theft attempt." Harry nodded.

"Thank you."

"Now then." The Gringotts law-goblin continued. "My business here is finished. Please return the Eye of Truth to me and let me be on my way." Dumbledore returned the magical lie-detector to Steelclaw, and the goblin quickly left the chamber, his entourage of armed guards following closely behind him. Once the door behind them closed, the goblin in charge of the Line Verification Office spoke up:

"Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, I think we're done..." The Hogwarts' Headmaster began, but Harry was quick to interrupt him.

"Actually, I would like a copy of the results of this blood test, verified by a recognized authority to be a genuine article, of course." This made the goblin raise an eyebrow.

"Why do you want that?" He asked.

"Thanks to _someone_..." The young Limiter said, while casting a very pointed glance at Dumbledore. "I'm stuck here with no documents. I need an ID and this looks like something that can function as one, at least for the first time." The goblin hummed.

"Very well. That'll be three galleons. Can you pay this money, Mr. Aoi?"

"Charge him." Harry replied, pointing at his 'minder'.

"Harry!" Dumbledore called. "You can't demand that I pay for your things, my boy."

"And I wouldn't need to had someone not forcibly brought me here without my consent and with barely any personal effects." That made the old warlock let out a deep sigh. When put this way, it was hard for him to argue against the boy's demand.

"Very well, I will pay for you this one time." He said after a moment or two of silence.

* * *

Their next stop was an Account Manager in charge of Hogwarts' vaults where Dumbledore opened a scholarship vault for Harry. And the first Limiter wasn't sure whether he should be happy about this development or not. On one hand, this gave him a bit of money to spend however he wished. On the other, though, it was essentially a loan forced onto him that he'll have to repay one day. Given his circumstances, being forced to repay a loan didn't sound all that fair to the young Limiter.

Once he was finally given a key to it, Harry was told to go down there in order to withdraw the gold he'll need to buy things in the Diagon Alley. What followed was a terrifying ride through narrow and winding tunnels in an open mining cart - an experience that did little to endear the Magical world to the orange-eyed youth…

Thankfully, it was pretty much the end of Harry's adventures at Gringotts: the one last business he had with the goblins today was exchanging some of his galleons for pounds so that he could buy casual clothes in the non-Magical world, much to the old man's disapproval.

* * *

Harry's shopping at Diagon Alley was rather uneventful, despite the number of bizarre things on the list of supplies he needed to procure. Buying the "Magical wand" was about the only exception, mostly because the shopkeeper was some really weird guy. No, Mr. Ollivanders was far from a bad man, but privately Harry thought that he wasn't entirely sane. This guy remembered people by wands he sold them, for God's sake!

This and a few other personality quirks aside, Mr. Ollivanders seemed to be a decent fellow. His supposed ability to quickly match wands to customers was something the orange-eyed boy wasn't as sure about. That, or the man just enjoyed watching him make a fool of himself by waving sticks around to no apparent effect. Eventually, though, Harry found a wand that seemed to work for him: a simple pine wand with a core made from unicorn tail hair - apparently these mythical beasts were quite real in this world.

Once everything on the list of Hogwarts supplies was bought, Dumbledore finally agreed to let him shop for everyday clothes in the "muggle" London. They made their way back to the dingy pub that served as the gateway into the Diagon Alley, where the old warlock left Harry's purchases with the barman, assuring the orange-eyed boy that nothing will happen to his things there. He then cast some spell that was supposed to make non-Magical people ignore their weird outfits, and with that the two of them stepped out into the busy street of Charing Cross Road.

Immediately, Harry noticed that the city around him looked like it was stuck in the late twentieth century. And a random poster advertising a rock concert only confirmed his fears: Dumbledore hadn't been lying to him and he indeed had been transported into year 1991. This certainly made his situation much worse, but the orange-eyed boy wasn't about to give up. He will find a way back home!

But before that he needed some proper clothes to wear. The limited money were a bit of a problem there, but after poking around the shops, Harry managed to get a few reasonably-cheap sets of casual clothes. One which he even was wearing right now: it was miles better than the set of robes Dumbledore had provided him with.

Also, while he was shopping out there, the young Limiter got a chance to check out his smartphone. Turns out, it was actually working fine and the reason it refused to turn on previously was the Hogwarts castle and its overwhelmingly-powerful Magics. This was good news even if did nothing to solve his space-time displacement problem.

* * *

Having returned to the Hogwarts castle, Harry left his purchases in the room he was currently occupying and went to look for the resident Potions Master - the man had misconceptions about him than needed to be addressed as soon as possible. Eventually, he found Mr. Snape in the Great Hall, having some early dinner.

"What do you want, Potter?" The man asked before Harry got a chance to address him. "Haven't you wasted enough of Headmaster's time today? Do you want to waste my precious time as well?" Forcing himself to ignore the Potions Master's rude words, the orange-eyed Limiter handed him the parchment with the results of his blood test.

"I suggest you read this... Sir." He said, looking straight into the man's eyes. "In fact, I insist on you taking a look at this document." He added a second later.

"Fine." Snape said after a few moments of silence. "If it means you will keep your damned Potter arrogance away from me..." Taking the parchment from Harry's hands, he unrolled it and looked at its contents. And stared.

"As you can see, I'm not this 'Harry Potter' bloke you believed me to be." The dimensionally-misplaced boy supplied 'helpfully'.

"I-Is this parchment real, Headmaster?" The Hogwarts' Potions Master asked his boss, who had just walked into the Great Hall.

"I assume you're talking about the results of the blood test of Mr. Aoi? Unfortunately it is, Severus." Dumbledore replied. "I'm not yet sure how or why this happened, but my attempt to bring Mr. Potter back to his homeland somehow summoned this young man instead."

"Does this mean that you'll help find a way to send me home?" Harry asked the old warlock.

"I guess, this will be what I need to do to atone for my mistake." The Headmaster replied. "But I must warn you, Harry, that this will likely take a long while. Finding your home and sending you back is a task significantly more difficult than bringing you here. And I don't even know yet why my Magic chose you and not Mr. Potter as I intended… Furthermore, my various jobs will likely leave me only little time to research a method to return you to your home" He said. The young Limiter sighed quietly: as he expected, the old man would likely be of no help there. He should look for a way home himself.

Snape chose this moment to rejoin the conversation:

"It appears that I've indeed been wrong about you, Mr. Aoi." He said as he returned Harry's blood test.

"Does this mean that our future relationship will not be as sour?" The orange-eyed youth asked hopefully. He'd rather not be constantly subjected to the level of verbal abuse Hogwarts' Potions Master reserved for that 'Harry Potter'.

"If you prove yourself to be a better man than Mr. Potter." Snape replied.

* * *

 **That's all, folks!**  
Read and review


	4. September the First

The fourth chapter of " _ **Orange Eyes**_ " is here! Enjoy!

 *** Review Response**:  
 **Lu Bane Na** , ah, I see...  
 **Squadpunk 2.0** , nope, I'm sure I've seen those fail before. It's just exceedingly rare compared to Harry suddenly finding himself a heir/lord to some important and rich Noble house. And Harry having more money that he knows what to do with is such a tired cliche... It's also meaningless as those money rarely ever get used for anything beyond maybe getting Harry some "lordy" clothes and some other high-quality personal things.  
 **Great Dullahan** , well, yeah, Harry being short on money and needed resources for his research is something that I'll have to address in the future. And, quite honestly, at this point I'm not sure what Harry can actually do to get some income. He's too young to get an official job in either world, and having him help around 'The Leaky Cauldron' or 'The Three Broomsticks' would be such a waste... I'll have to think up something better, no ideas right now, though.  
 **Jostanos** , not very soon and through a piece of Magic he himself creates. The said piece of Magic will also not work as intended the first time around ;)  
 **Ranmaleopard** , **starboy454** , **god of all** , **Guest #1** , **Guest #2** , that you for your reviews, folks!  
 **Darth-Vulturnus** , which things? Please let me know so that I can do something to correct the problems if they are actually there, or clarify things if it's just me not being able to write my ideas down properly.  
 **wahyubison** , I'm not sure if the story will even get to the point where the Death Eaters will actually become an actual primary antagonist force. But calling in some reinforcements from the non-Magical side will be considered as an option in case Voldie makes another attempt to take over the world.  
 **A10riddick** , somewhere around summer between Harry's 4th and 5th years. Her appearance is tied to Harry's first attempt to send himself home.

 *** AN**: Great thanks to my good friend **Skelekitty** for his help in polishing this chapter.

* * *

 **Disclaimer** : I DO_NOT own " _ **Harry Potter**_ " or " _ **Freezing**_ ". No profit is being made. The same goes for any other books, films, video games, anime and manga that might use as the sources of inspiration.

"Talking"  
" _Translated talking_ "  
' _thinking_ '  
 _written text_  
 **spells** / **skills  
** 「 _Telepathy / sharing thoughts over the Freezing Field_ 」 **  
**

* * *

 **Orange eyes  
Part IV: September the First**

"Mr. Aoi." Headmaster Dumbledore called as Harry finished his breakfast on the morning of September the First. "Please pack your belongings and be ready for departure in one hour. Professor Snape will then escort you to Kings Cross, platform 9¾." It took the orange-eyed boy a few moment to formulate a response to this.

"For what reason?" He asked, giving the Headmaster a pointed look.

"It is a long-standing tradition that students arrive to the school via the Hogwarts Express." The aged warlock explained. "And this tradition must be observed even if you have resided within the castle for the past few days." He made a short pause, before adding: "Also, all first-year students, yourself included, will be sorted tonight. And, once sorted, shall live in their assigned dormitories. Thus, you will need to relocate your things from your current quarters regardless." Harry wasn't exactly happy to hear this but, nevertheless, accepted this explanation.

"Fine." He said. He was about to turn around and head for the exit from the Great Hall when the Potions Master spoke up:

"I will be waiting for in front of the castle's main doors, Mr. Aoi." The man said. "Do not be late." Nodding, Harry walked out of the Great Hall.

* * *

Given how he had only a handful of things to pack, it didn't take Harry much time to pack the few things he owned into his trunk. He then spent the rest of an hour he was given to pack reading his Charms textbook - he felt like it was the best starting point in his search for a way home… And once his time to meet with Professor Snape came, he put the book into his trunk and made his way down to the castle's main entrance.

"Well, at least you don't suffer from a lack of punctuality, Mr. Aoi." The Potions Master commented dryly as Harry approached him. After a moment of silence, the man continued: "As the Headmaster said, at the beginning of the year every student is expected to arrive here via the Hogwarts Express regardless of where they normally live. To that end, I will now escort you to platform 9¾ at Kings Cross, where the train departs from." And without waiting for Harry to respond Snape turned around and walked out of the castle's door, his black cloak billowing dramatically in the non-existent wind.

The two of them walked down the grassy hill to the edge of Hogwarts' grounds in complete silence. And once they stepped through wrought iron gate, the Potions Professor stopped.

"Take my hand and hold it very tightly, Mr. Aoi, I will apparate… That is, teleport us to platform 9¾." The man said as he extended his hand to the orange-eyed Limiter. "I take it, you haven't apparated side-along before?" Harry gave him a nod: Dumbledore had brought him to Diagon Alley via the floo network. "Then brace yourself. It is not the most pleasant sensation for those not used to it."

Professor Snape didn't lie when he gave this warning: apparition was one extremely fast but very uncomfortable way of traveling. Indeed, the feeling of being forced through a very tight rubber tube was far from pleasant. Suddenly reappearing in an entirely different place was also quite disorienting. Still, being able to instantaneously travel between any two points outweighed those issues. Probably.

Anyway, just like he had promised, the Hogwarts' Potions Master brought Harry to platform 9¾ at Kings Cross. This platform, however, was currently empty, with no Magical train waiting for young wizards and witches to board it anywhere in sight.

"Hogwarts Express will be served in about fifteen minutes." Professor Snape informed him. He then handed the young Limiter a set of simple paper tickets. "Here are your tickets, one for today and one for the trip back to Kings Cross at the end of the academic year. Try not to lose it." And with that the dungeon-dwelling man apparated away with a loud crack.

* * *

At exactly ten in the morning, a train led by a crimson steam engine was served to the platform 9¾. It was a magnificent sight, especially for someone who never saw a steam locomotive outside of a museum before. After admiring the rarity machine for a minute or two, Harry boarded the train. Picking a random compartment to settle in, he put his trunk on the luggage rack and went back to reading his Charms textbook.

As barely anyone arrived so much in advance, he managed to read through the next few chapters in relative peace and quiet. However, as the departure time for the Hogwarts Express drew close, and the platform became crowded, the loud chatter of Hogwarts students meeting up after the summer holidays began to become a distraction. Letting out a small sigh, the First Limiter set the book aside: the text only covered the basics of Charms and didn't mention anything related to interdimensional travel, so he found it difficult to be engaged with.

Leaning back, Harry closed his eyes and wondered what else he could do to kill some time. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him that since he was away from Hogwarts right now, his phone might be able to turn on. Reaching for the device he pressed the power button and it actually lit up. Apparently, ambient Magic here wasn't strong enough to prevent electronics from working.

Waiting for his phone to boot up, the orange-eyed youth examined the info on the screen. The battery appeared to be mostly-full, and if he kept the smartphone turned off, there should be some charge still left by the time the next summer rolls around. Good. It would've been even better if he could connect to some local network, but... It wasn't like he could blame the phone's designers for not including support for thirty years old - and likely decommissioned [1] - standards?

At this point the right thing to would probably be turning the phone of and going back to reading or something, but Harry quite honestly didn't feel like doing so. Instead, he decided to look through the photos of his family.

Just as he loaded the photo gallery, however, the compartment's door slid open, revealing a couple of rather shy girls, a blonde and a redhead, who looked to be no older than twelve. His future classmates, most likely.

"C-Can we sit here?" The redhead asked. The orange-eyed Limiter nodded.

"Sure." He said, before taking another look at the girls, finally noticing their trunks and just how big those were. "Would you like some help with those?" He asked then. The girls gave him a somewhat-hesitant nod. Getting off his seat, Harry picked their luggage and deposited it onto the overhead rack with no noticeable effort. A simple thing that, nevertheless, left the two young ladies quite impressed.

"Wow. You must really strong." The red-haired girl breathed out. The son of Maria Lancelot shrugged and retook his seat, his attention returning to his smartphone. The gadget drew the witches' attention as well. "Umm… Excuse me… But what's that thing?"

"This is my mobile phone." Harry replied. Then he recalled that here, in 1991, mobile phones were bricks with external antennas, sometimes without a screen, and not the slick touchscreen-controlled devices they've evolved into by mid 2010s. "They won't be selling the ones like this here, in Great Britain, for a while, though." He added then.

"Are you going to call someone? Should we leave while you're talking?" The redhead asked next. Then, after a small pause, she added: "Also… What's your name? I'm Susan Bones and this is Hannah Abbott." She said, introducing herself and her friend.

"A pleasure. I'm Harrison Aoi. Or Lancelot, if you go with Magic picking my mother's lineage over that of my father." Pausing to take a breath, he continued: "And, I wasn't going to call anyone. I actually wanted to take a look at the photos I have there."

"You can do that?" Susan asked with genuine surprise.

"Well, yeah. You can do it on phones like this one." He said, silently reminding himself that mobile phones of this reality won't get such capabilities for a number of years. Flipping through his gallery until he found a photo he was looking for. "Here." He said, turning the device around to let the girls see its screen with the most recent photo of the Aoi family on it. "This is my family."

The picture depicted three rows of people. The front row had Harry himself in the center with a blonde and brown-haired girls by his sides, sitting on the ground. Standing behind them were three girls with white, deep-blue and pink hair. The back row had a fairly-handsome dark-haired oriental man in his early thirties with a young boy no older than four sitting on his shoulders and an ethereally-beautiful blond-haired woman.

"Wow, you have such a big family." Susan commented and Hannah nodded in agreement. She fell silent for a few moments, before asking: "But how come you all look so different? Only your eyes are the same." Harry rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Our mother, Maria Lancelot, is… very special. I guess you can blame her genes for this." His answer seemed to satisfy the girls' curiosity.

"D-did your sisters attend Hogwarts too?" Hannah asked then.

"No, our home is in Japan and, truth to be said, I didn't know Magic existed until recently." The First Limiter replied. "It is only due to circumstances that I'm attending Hogwarts."

"You only learned about Magic this summer? Does that mean that you're a first year too?" Susan asked, clearly surprised by what she's just learned. Harry nodded. "Oh my." The redhead breathed out. "I thought you were an older student. You certainly look like can be in the third, maybe even fourth, year."

"That's, apparently, another thing we got from our mother." He replied with a small shrug. "My sisters too are younger than they look." The compartment then fell into silence, which was soon broken by a whistle announcing the train's departure. "By the way, do you know how long the Express will take to reach Hogwarts?" Harry asked then.

"Several hours." Susan replied. "Auntie told me that the train arrives to Hogsmeade - that's a village near Hogwarts where the railway station is located - just before dinner." The orange-eyed boy nodded, before returning his attention to his smartphone. He needed to save as much battery as possible, but there was another couple of photos he wanted to show to his new friends...

* * *

The Hogwarts Express was clearing the outskirts of London when the compartment door was rudely slid open, revealing a supercilious blond boy, accompanied by a pair of 'bodyguards'. The blonde quickly scanned the compartment, before letting out an annoyed sigh.

"He isn't here either, is he?" He asked no one in particular.

"Who are you looking for?" Harry asked without looking away from the window. He still didn't feel like going back to reading his textbooks and his conversation with Susan and Hannah has waned out.

"Harry Potter." The still-unintroduced blonde said. "He's supposed to attend Hogwarts this year."

"Haven't seen anyone like him." The dimensionally-misplaced Limiter replied, while making a mental note to speak to have some words with this Harry Potter person, should he ever meet him - the guy was the reason he got torn away from his family and his world, after all. "Have you?" He then added, directing his question to the two witches sitting across the compartment from him. In doing that, he also gave the blond boy a glimpse of his eyes.

"It looks like Hogwarts' standards keep falling if they allow people like you in." The boy sneered while making a face of utter disgust. "Crabbe, Goyle, let's go before we're corrupted by this filth. I'd advise you to seek a better company too, heiress Bones, but it looks like it is already too late for you." And with that he and his 'bodyguards' were gone.

"That was rude." Harry commented dryly while doing his best to suppress his rising anger.

"Yeah." Susan agreed. There was a small pause, before she continued: "That was Draco Malfoy. He comes from an old and rich family that preaches blood-purity and looks down on those who have non-Magical or non-human ancestors. And, let's be honest, Harrison, your eyes do look unusual enough to appear inhuman." The First Limiter shrugged, filing information about this Draco Malfoy away in his mind.

 **~/ *** \~**

The evening sun began settling behind Scotland's mountains when the conductor announced that the Hogwarts Express will be arriving to its destination in a half of an hour. The man also reminded the students that their luggage will be delivered to the castle separately and, thus, should be left on the train.

This announcement was followed a brief moment of awkwardness as the three pre-teens realized that they all needed to change into their robes, but it was quickly resolved.

Half an hour after the announcement, the Hogwarts Express gently pulled to the only platform of the Hogsmeade railway station. Harry was in no great rush to disembark, though, and instead opted to wait until the rush outside the compartment died down. Susan and Hannah, having taken a look at the throng of people trying to get off the train as soon as possible, decided to wait a bit as well.

Finally stepping out of the train, the three of them immediately saw their fellow first years gathering around a huge man, whom Harry recognized as Hagrid the gamekeeper.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" The man boomed as he continued to call Hogwarts' new students together. "Any more firs' years?" Once it looked like no one else was coming, Hagrid announced that they were finally departing for the castle: "Alright! Firs' years! Follow me! And mind yer step!" He said as he led everyone off the platform and down a steep, narrow and stupidly unlit path that led towards the Black lake.

Upon arriving to the lake's shore, Hagrid gave everyone a few moments to enjoy the majestic sight of the Hogwarts castle, its numerous windows shining with thousands of Magical lights. He then told them to get into the boats that were sitting in the water by the shore. Harry ended up sharing one with Susan, Hannah and a dark-skinned boy named Dean Thomas.

"Everyone in?" Hagrid, who had a whole boat to himself, asked. "Right then – **forward**!" And so the small fleet began its voyage across the Black Lake.

* * *

After crossing the Black Lake and sailing through a well-hidden tunnel, the boats arrived to an underground harbor. Hagrid told everyone to disembark. Then, once he made sure that no one got lost or left behind, he approached the castle door and knocked on it three times with his gigantic fist. After a moment, the door swung open, revealing a tall witch with graying hair and stern face. "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." The gamekeeper said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." The witch replied as she pulled the door wide open, inviting the students into an entrance hall that lay beyond the door. From there, she guided them to a small, empty chamber off the Great Hall. "Welcome to Hogwarts." Professor McGonagall said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses." She then gave everyone a quick overview of what the schools' four houses were and what personal traits aligned with them. After finishing her explanation she said: "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly."

The silence, however, lasted for maybe five seconds after she closed the chamber's door. Then the students began whispering among themselves, many offering their wild guesses about the way they will be sorted. Hannah, who wasn't as shy around him anymore, asked what he thought the Sorting will be like, but Harry didn't want to speculate and simply told her that he had no idea. Suddenly, there was a string of girlish shrieks coming from across the room. Looking there, the First Limiter saw a group of Hogwarts' ghosts floating through walls and students alike, discussed something among themselves.

A couple of ghosts, namely the Fat Friar and Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington - everyone called him Nearly-Headless Nick, though - stopped for a few moments to welcome the new students to Hogwarts before hurrying after their ethereal companions. And just as they disappeared through a wall, Professor McGonagall returned.

"The Sorting Ceremony is about to start." The stern witch said. "Now, please, form a line and follow me." Once the line was formed, Professor McGonagall lead everyone to the Great Hall, which, Harry noted, looked much more awe-inspiring tonight, what's with numerous banners with the emblems of Hogwarts itself and its four houses decorating the usually-bare walls. The Great Hall also felt a bit smaller now that there were several hundreds of students in there.

And while Harry's classmates were greedily taking in the sight of the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the Professors' table. On top of the stool she put a patched and frayed and extremely dirty pointed wizard's hat. A few moments later, the hat twitched and a rip resembling a mouth opened near its brim. Then, the hat started _singing_ \- this caught Harry by surprise as he was still not used to normally-inanimate things doing stuff like that.

Once the Sorting Hat finished singing and the applause died down, the sorting ceremony began. Hannah was the first one to have her name called, and after some thinking the Sorting Hat placed her into Hufflepuff, whose table she soon joined under the applause of her new housemates and the students from other houses.

"Aoi, Harrison." Professor McGonagall called next, catching Harry a bit by surprise: he thought that they would use 'Lancelot' for his family name on the official documents. That was the name that goblin ritual identified him with, after all. Giving this a small shrug, he went to sit on the stool, ignoring the curious glances he was receiving due to his Nova eyes and his seeming age.

" _You're an interesting one, Mr. Aoi. Or would you prefer it if I called you Mr. Lancelot?_ " The Sorting Hat spoke in his mind the moment it was put on top of his head. It was bit like telepathy over the Freezing Field, but used actual human language rather than mental images for conveying messages. " _You might not be the first student I've sorted that isn't fully human, but I've never sorted anyone who was so… alien in their non-human half. And worry not, my Magic will not let me to give to the world anything I learn while sorting you that you want to keep a secret. Now, let's see which of the four Houses is going to be your home while you're at Hogwarts..._ " The Hat fell silent for a moment, before continuing: " _You're an remarkable young man, with many traits prized by the Founders. Sorting you will be an interesting challenge._ "

" _So, which House are you going to sort me into?_ " Harry asked.

" _Let me see… I'd say that Slytherin, as it was envisioned by Lord Salazar, would suit you the best, but as the things are right now, sorting you there might not be the wisest thing to do._ " The Sorting Hat replied. " _Ravenclaw is another good place for you, even if you see knowledge merely as a tool you need in order to achieve your goals, rather than a treasure in itself. Yes, being sorted into Lady Rowena's house will help you greatly in you quest for the way home_." Harry had no reason to feel strongly about joining the House of wisdom. " _Very well. Then you better be_ **Ravenclaw**!" The Hat made its final decision, the last word being spoken for everyone in the Great Hall to hear.

Taking the Sorting Hat off his head, Harry joined his new housemates at the Ravenclaw table. Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall called for the next person to be sorted: Bones, Susan.

* * *

To the surprise of almost everyone present in the Great Hall, it was Oliver Rivers who was called to try the Sorting Hat on after Parvati Patil joined the ranks of Gryffindors. There was no Harry Potter on the list of the first year students. And since the boy was famous for supposedly ending the reign of a terrorist when he was just fifteen month old, many had been hyped about him joining the ranks of Hogwarts students this year. Only for the boy to be mysteriously absent.

It actually took the Headmaster's interference to stop the resulting chaos and get the Sorting Ceremony back on track. Thankfully, once the people actually quieted down, the Sorting continued without an incident, until the last of the first years, Blaise Zabini, got meted into Slytherin.

Headmaster Dumbledore then rose out of his throne-like chair and made a short and rather nonsensical speech, announcing the beginning of the banquet. He then made a subtle gesture with his wand and the previously-empty plates on the table suddenly became filled with food.

* * *

After everyone had their fill, the remaining food was Magically cleared from plates, and the Headmaster rose out of his chair again. This time his speech was much more serious and included things like reminding students about the school's rules, Quidditch trials announcement and telling that a certain corridor was off-limits for those who valued their lives. The last one actually made Harry do a double-take as in the world he was familiar with, a school simply wouldn't be allowed to operate if there was such a health hazard on its territory.

Dumbledore then invited everyone to sing the school song. Harry, quite honestly, found it to be terrible - especially since there was no set tune - but politely sang along as best as he could regardless. Once the last of the students _finally_ finished singing, there was a round of applause.

"Ah, music." The Headmaster said, wiping his eyes. "A Magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" In an instant the Great Hall got filled with movement as older students left their tables and headed for the dormitories. Thankfully, for the first years, the prefects were there to show them the way and prevent them from getting lost.

"'Claws, gather here." A fifth-year female prefect whose named eluded Harry called as she tried to organize Ravenclaw firsties into something resembling a neat file so that they could be easily escorted to the common room. Not knowing where the common rooms were himself, he quickly joined his peers. Once the prefect had all of the first years gathered around her and the crowd in front of the Great Hall's doors thinned out a little, the group departed.

Since Ravenclaw dormitories occupied the top stories of a tall tower, getting there took a few minutes of walking through the castle's corridors and ascending the ever-changing grand staircase as well as the aptly-named spiral staircase. The entrance to the common room was a door without a doorknob or keyhole. What that door did have was a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.

"Ravenclaw common room is a bit different than the common rooms of the other three houses." The prefect said. "There is no password that you need to remember in order to enter it. Instead, you need to use the knocker and correctly answer whichever riddle it decides to give you. If you answer incorrectly, you'll have to wait for someone to get their riddle right. Anyone wants to try?"

A blonde boy whose name, if Harry remembered the Sorting ceremony correctly, was Anthony Goldstein raised his hand. The prefect gave him a nod and he walked up to the door. Placing his hand on the knocker, he hesitated for a moment, before knocking on the door. The bronze eagle suddenly became animated and spoke:

"Which came first, the phoenix, or the flame?" It asked, which made the orange-eyed Limiter raise an eyebrow at this odd version of a chicken and an egg situation. Anthony, meanwhile, was trying hard to think up an answer.

"Neither was the beginning, they give birth to each other?" He finally said, not sounding very sure of his answer. Thankfully for him, the bronze eagle accepted his answer and the door opened, giving the young Ravenclaws a first glimpse of their common room.

It is a wide, circular room with large arched windows, hung with blue and bronze silks, a high domed ceiling and a midnight blue carpet on the floor. The room is furnished with tables, chairs, and bookcases; and by the door leading up to the dormitories stood a tall white marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw herself. All in all, the room was very airy and would be an excellent place to hang around at on a bright and sunny day.

"Welcome to the Ravenclaw common room, the place where the brightest minds of Hogwarts reside." A squeaky voice said from behind. Turning around, the first years saw a tiny wizard entering the common room after them. "For those who don't know it yet, I'm Professor Flitwick, the Hogwarts' Charms Professor and the Head of the most illustrious House of Ravenclaw. If you find yourself in need of my assistance, feel free to seek me out: the doors of my office are always open for you."

He got a somewhat-lethargic murmur of acknowledgement in response as quite a few of the young students were all but falling asleep on their feet after a long and eventful day. The diminutive Professor paid it no mind as he continued:

"Now, before we all can go to bed, there are a few more things I need to tell you." And so he explained the first years the rules they'll have to follow as Hogwarts students and members of House Ravenclaw - things like the ban on Magic use in corridors, the curfew and not to do a number of other things that would land one into trouble. He then told everyone that the timetables will be handed out during the breakfast tomorrow, and so being late or worse, skipping it, would be a bad idea. And once he was finished, he wished everyone good night and disappeared towards his office.

"Alright." The prefect said. "First year dormitories are on the second floor. Boys' are through the door on the left, girls' - through the door on the right. Your things have already been delivered to the dormitories and are waiting at the foot of your beds. Classes start tomorrow morning, so don't stay up late. If you have any questions or need some help, my fellow prefects and I will be down there in the common room."

Deciding that he might as well call it a day, Harry made his way to the second floor of the boys' dormitories, and, indeed, found his trunk sitting on the floor next to the bed in the far corner of the room. He quickly changed out of his robes, he picked his toothbrush and toothpaste and went to the adjoined bathroom to brush his teeth. A minute or so later, he was joined there by a slightly pudgy brown-haired boy, Terry Boot, if his memory served him.

"Harrison, right?" Terry asked. Receiving a nod from the orange-eyed Limiter, the boy continued: "Sorry, this might be a rude question, but did you get your letter late or something? You look like you should be in your third year." Harry let out a small sigh. He knew that he would be asked this question a lot for the first few days of the academic year.

"I'm actually eleven, it's just my body is maturing a bit faster than normal - a trait that I've inherited from my mother, along with her eyes." He explained. "It's the same with my sisters."

"I see…" Terry said after a moment of silence. Meanwhile, Harry finished brushing his teeth and left the bathroom.

Thankfully for him, the other boys were far too busy getting unpacked and changed to annoy him with questions tonight. Deciding that he'll unpack his trunk properly when he had time, he quickly stashed his thing in there and slipped under his bed's covers and soon drifted into the comforting embrace of good night's sleep

 **Omake**

The feast was in the full swing when the wards around the Castle alerted Dumbledore about an uninvited guest appearing in the middle of the Hogwarts' grounds seemingly. Appearing as in they materialized out of thin air, completely bypassing any wards that prevented apparition and portkeys from work without his express permission. Whoever this guest was, they possessed some really unusual powers. And they were rapidly approaching the castle itself, their reason for the visit just as mysterious as everything else about them. Cautiously, the elderly wizard commanded the castle's doors to lock themselves up while drew his wand and got ready to defend the students.

Not a minute later the thick oak doors that marked the main entrance into the castle were blown off their hinges with a single, extremely powerful attack. The sound immediately alerted everyone in the Great Hall that something was going on. The students, understandably, started panicking, while the Professors reached for their wands, ready to protect the children.

A couple of seconds passed, and the Great Hall's doors too were forced open, giving everyone inside the first glimpse of the 'attacker'. She was a tall ethereally-beautiful woman with long blonde hair and bright, almost glowing, orange eyes. She was wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt and long pale-purple skirt, but a pair of huge clawed gauntlets made from a strange metallic material encompassing her hands made it clear that she wasn't there on a social visit.

The Professors, once they got over their initial shock, fired a volley of spells at her, but those spells were frozen mid-air by an invisible force that Dumbledore and Snape immediately recognized as the Freezing Field. A moment later a ball of light appeared in front of the mysterious lady as she began preparing a counter-attack.

"Stop it." Harrison Aoi, whom no one noticed leaving the Ravenclaw table, ...demanded as he walked up the blonde-haired goddess and, to everyone's surprise, gave her a big hug. One which also caused her to cancel whatever attack she had been preparing. "This is my mother. She came to take me back home." This did prevent the Professors from trying to curse this strange woman again for the time being, but all of them kept their wands trained on her.

Meanwhile Harry said something that no one could hear properly, and a few seconds later his trunk appeared right in front of him. Quickly taking something from it, he gave his mother a nod. A moment later, the two of them got enveloped by a cloud of icy mist that formed an opaque cocoon around them. This cocoon then solidifier and, after a few seconds, shattered into ethereal dust, revealing that the duo inside was already gone to Merlin knows where.

And while everyone was still panicking and failing to make sense of what happened, Dumbledore was imagining the critique that the Daily Prophet would subject him to in the morning. Not only was the Boy-Who-Lived not attending Hogwarts, but he couldn't do anything to stop a single woman from forcing her way into the castle. This was nothing short of a complete disaster for him, and no longer having to spend time and gold on research ways to send someone to their home dimension was but a small consolation there.

He should've never used that accursed ritual to try and summon the missing Harry Potter…

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 **[1]** : 2G was first introduced in 1991 (in Finland). It is currently in process of being decommissioned (2016-2020 depending on the network). Harry was summoned from beyond 2020.

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 **That's all, folks!**  
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